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Berserker
Berserker T.A. Saunders ©2012 v1.2 Summary A fighter who throws caution to the wind and does not comprehend fear or surrender, the Berserkers cannot be dual-classed, for their commitment to their ideals. Berserkers are born with the inherent gift of being able to throw themselves into a violent fervor from which there can be only victory or death. Berserkers may not fill their Chest Armor Slot from the Imarel Armor and Magic Item Placement page, but may fill up to 5 others at any one time, less if the armor piece counts for multiple locations. Class Trees Barbarian: The Barbarian is oft one of many, a band of thieves and fighters who employ brute strength and intimidation tactics to line their pockets, or simply enjoy the lifestyle itself. They possess no honor to go with their ideals and instead give themselves over to the brutal and clever teachings of the Spirit of War. Should the opportunity present itself, they will attack en masse in the dead of night, always preferring to start with the upper hand. Death-Chaser: The Death-Chaser is a living embodiment of death, they roam between place of conflict to place of conflict with the sole purpose of administering the utmost in brutality. A Death-Chaser has no friends, only those who’ve yet to become enemies. Sometimes paying homage to Khazaar, Siru, or Toron, these hateful monsters have no reservations against embracing death. Honor-Seeker: The Honor-Seeker is the noblest Berserker insofar as whom they slay and why, acting with a profound sense of direction and justice. These fighters rally against those who oppress other that cannot defend themselves, and the Berserker dispenses upon them ungodly amounts of carnage. A friend of the weak and enemy to those who would disenfranchise them, often an Honor-Seeker will roam from place-to-place to train militiamen to better defend their homes, or better yet become Honor-Seekers themselves. Often times, they dedicate themselves to the teachings of Kaal, or the Spirits of War or Valor. Class Abilities 'Shared Class Abilities' Brutality: A berserker knows the worst possible way to kill a person or creature and will nearly always seek to do so against those they fight against. Because of this, any damage a berserker causes by flailing fist or swung weapon will be considerably more than what might occur from a lesser combatant. Furthermore, if the berserker chooses, employing two weapons will grant more attacks but lessen their ability to hit. Because of this natural sense of violence, Berserkers are also immune to all forms of fear, save those from divine/infernal origins. (+80% base to-hit in melee, 3 attacks per round with either weapons or a flailing limb. Should at least one attack hit, +5% is granted to Berserk Rage chance. Dual wielding allows for 6 attacks per round, but percentage to hit is lowered to 65%. Immunity to fear). Furious Warcry: A berserker may at any time during combat unleash a battle cry that comes forth with such ferocity that all enemies have a %25 chance to be struck with fear. Non-combatants and lesser adversaries will immediately flee the area for 1d4 rounds. Those of more heroic (or villainous stature) will attack the berserker at a -20% penalty to hit for 1d4 rounds. (25% chance for fear, non-combatants flee 1d4 rounds, combatants attack at -20% for 1d4 rounds. Usable 3 times per day). Berserk Rage: The true power of the berserker is the ability to throw themselves into reckless blood-lust to destroy their enemies. For each round a berserker is in combat, there is a +5% chance they will go berserk. Should the berserker be wounded, another +5% is added for the check. The check is made at the end of each combat round and should it be successful, berserk rage initiates at the beginning of the next round. When the berserker rage strikes, the berserker gains a +25% to hit, on top of the Brutality bonus and gains an extra attack per round. Once berserk, the Berserker cannot will themselves out of Berserk Rage and must fight until either they or their enemies are dead (though, knocking a berserker out is also a valid way to take them out of Berserk Rage). Additionally, enemies gain a +15% chance to hit the Berserker since they are no longer attempting to evade damage. (+10% to hit, 1 extra attack per round, enemies gain +15% to hit the Berserker). 'Paragon Class Abilities' (Available only to single class characters who spend 12 EP for all three skills.): Paragon of Skill: Because an individual spends a great deal of focused effort and time to become a Paragon they learn things of their profession that those who dual-class would not otherwise discover. This skill translates into a bonus +15% to hit for their appropriate combat focus (+15% to melee hit for melee types, +15% to ranged for ranged attackers and +15% to spell hit for spell casters). Additionally, the Paragon gains an extra -20% to their overall armor rating versus all forms of attack. Stalwart Combatant: Unarmored as they may be, the Berserker has participated in many battles and, despite their imposing frame and seeming lack of forethought, knows how to subtly adjust their stance or shift inches to either side amidst a charge. While not seeming much at first, this in combination with their scar-covered body gives them a surprising degree of solidity. Whether wholly natural or a boon from the Divine, the Berserker halves all damage reduced during combat and gains a +10% bonus to Intuition checks related to conflict due to copious amounts of first hand experience. This damage reduction doesn’t apply out of combat, should they be attacked by an assassin, sniper, or some other sly method. Learned Precision: ‘Armor’ is a thing considered unnecessary by all but a few Berserkers, but also something they must learn to oppose, as not all foes will be bare chested and forthcoming in their dealings. Through their endless waltz from battlefield to battlefield, the Berserker has learned how to minimize the effectiveness of armor and similar protection. When attacking an armored foe barehanded or with a melee weapon, they cut the final product of external Armor Rating in half. This doesn’t apply to Racial bonuses, nor Tattoos etched upon the skin. Barbarian Nefarious Bent: While perhaps not the most discrete combatant, the Barbarian is adept at working around such flaws. Utilizing opens such as nightfall, a change of watch, hostages, or other similarly insidious methods, they can infiltrate a target location. The intent of this is not to sneak about, but to find a vantage point. Upon finding an advantageous position, the Barbarian will burst from the shadows to confound an unwitting target from behind. With sufficient time to prepare before engaging an enemy, the Barbarian may find an acceptable hiding place with a 70% chance of success. For Berserkers of races that can hide in shadows as well, the Camouflage roll is augmented by +10%. If successful, none of their targets may roll to evade or deflect for the first round of combat and all of the Barbarian’s attacks have a 50% chance to cause Stunning for 1 round. This cannot activate multiple times per the same target. In addition, whenever the Barbarian is employing sinister tactics during combat they gain a +10% bonus to hit. Intimidation: The Barbarian is not quite as durable as other Berserkers, and is rarely accepting prepared to present themselves as a blatant target when the odds are even. As such, they are masters of posturing and body language, able to cause unease in even the most stalwart foes. They might wear the bones of previous victims as decoration, employ bodily odors, or go out of their way to mutilate fallen targets. Anything to paint a picture of their superiority and show they possess no sense of mercy. Even those used to such things find themselves unable to ignore this, though the reduction in precision may simply be to unadulterated fury affecting accuracy. Anyone engaging the Barbarian during battle is at a -20% penalty to hit them, and they reduce the number of melee or ranged attacks available by one. Gang-Up: Masters of foul play, Barbarians are fond of employing quantity over quality. Even the most powerful of warriors can fall if overwhelmed, bereft of options but to continue to cut down foes in a battle of attrition. Regardless of the skill of those fighting alongside them, Barbarians can find use in each and every addition to their numbers. The Barbarian is at a +10% to hit while working in a group, and for each ally (or minion) engaging the same enemy as them, they gain an additional +10% bonus to hit, to a maximum of +60%. Death-Chaser Devastation: Carnage is the only thing that matters to a Death-Chaser, and they will stop at nothing to witness it. They care nothing for begging nor skill, and will never spare someone deemed an enemy anything but a gruesome death. Once the battle is joined only one may walk away, and the Death-Chaser’s philosophy is that the best defense is overwhelming offense. Due to this viewpoint, they have an inherent +20% penalty to their overall armor rating that may be offset but never negated. Instead, they are immune to all but the most potent forms of incapacitation, and each successful blow has a 25% chance to cause a Serious Wound due to the sheer power they attack with. This chance may only occur once per round on any one target. Murder Stroke: Sometimes aggressive action alone isn’t enough, and sometimes a certain foe is simply irksome and needs to suffer. Once per day while Berserk, the Death-Chaser may focus all of their mortal hatred and rage into a single blow capable of sundering seemingly impenetrable defenses. The Death-Chaser makes a single melee attack at +20% to hit on the turn Murder Stroke is used, and if successful their target is immediately gored with such cruelty that they are rendered unconscious and will die of Blood Loss in 1d4 rounds and has a -40% penalty to being healed due to the catastrophic damage -- they do not die instantly, because that is not suffering. Beyond Brutality: The Death-Chaser’s bloodlust is derived from utter violence, and as the battle progresses they grow more and more ferocious. Each time a Death-Chaser takes a life during combat, they gain a +5% bonus to all checks for the remainder of battle, to a maximum of +60%. Should the odds be so unseemly that the Death-Chaser kills an unaccountable number of lives in a single round, they gain only a +5% bonus. In addition, they have an extra attack per turn due to their wild abandon. Honor-Seeker Roaring Inspiration: The Honor-Seeker is a great many things, a general, a commander, a leader, and a hero. Throughout their travels, they gain the personality and dedication to their cause in order to inspire others with their own glorious rage. When in battle for a cause they believe in (i.e.: Not just some random bar brawl), the Honor-Seeker has a +15% to hit, and grants their allies who believe similarly the same bonus to their melee attacks, along with a party-wide 65% resistance to fear. The Hero’s Way: The Honor-Seeker’s body is a temple to their cause, sullied with the scars of their many battles. These scars are something more though, containing trace remnants of memory and power. Similarly to how an Artifact gains strength as it ages, so do the Honor-Seeker’s flesh and bone. Once per day, they may call upon this quirk to empower them with imprinted might. This roundabout blessing conveys a +20% to hit and temporary invulnerability to damage, that lasts for the remainder of the combat scenario. Ignoring all but outright lethal damage, the Honor-Seeker will continue to fight until either they or the enemy are dead. However, upon combat’s resolution the Honor-Seeker is rendered weak from the strain and may only fight in self-defense at -20% to hit until they take half a day to rest. Brand of Honor: Unlike other Berserkers, the Honor-Seeker is the only one capable of calling upon the Divine for aid. While rarely done outside dramatically dishonorable circumstances, they may offer a prayer to whomever they worship to even an imbalance on the battlefield with a base 50% success rate. Be it the enemy raining gunfire and mortar upon helpless militiamen, a massive skew in numbers between the two sides, or a trap that prevents retaliation, if the prayer is answered something subtle will upset the odds in some way to even the playing field. These prayers are not meant to be directed any one individual, be they friend or foe, but to alter the battlefield when dishonorable tactics or the whims of fate might otherwise doom the cause they champion. An Honor-Seeker's success rate begins at 45%, however they may add 1/5th of whatever Divine spell hit bonuses they possess -- via racial abilities or trinkets on their person -- to it. Category:Classes Category:Berserker Category:Barbarian Category:Death-Chaser Category:Honor-Seeker